Phalaborwa hosts games as prelude to SAIMSA tourney later this year
Thousands of municipal workers are expected to take part in this year's edition of the Inter-Municipal Sports of South Africa (IMSSA) Limpopo games
LIMPOPO – Ba-Phalaborwa is famous for having the highest winter temperatures in the country and is thus known as the Town of Two Summers. Thousands of municipal workers are expected to take part in this year’s edition of the Inter-Municipal Sports of South Africa (IMSSA) Limpopo games to be held in Ba-Phalaborwa, starting on 3 June.
Municipal Spokesperson, Jonas Mahesu, said municipal workers will battle it out in different sporting codes, which include soccer, volleyball, netball, pool, a marathon, fishing, darts, golf, chess, tennis as well as table tennis.
“We are proud to host the games and trust that this tournament will boost our local economy. Thousands of people are expected to visit our town, so we envisage a major boost of local businesses and the hospitality industry,” he said
Mahesu extended his deepest gratitude to the IMSSA Provincial Executive Committee for choosing Ba-Phalaborwa to host the games, adding that the tournament will prove that the home of the Marula festival has the capacity to stage major cultural and sporting events.
He said visitors were expected to enjoy the well-known tourist destinations in the area, such as the Phalaborwa Gate, which is one of the busiest entrances into the world-famous Kruger National Park nature reserve.
Phalaborwa is the only town in the country that is situated directly on the border of the iconic wildlife reserve.
Mahesu said Lulekani Stadium, Hans Merensky and Impala Park Stadium will be the official venues for the annual tournament, and the winners will go home with gold, silver or bronze medals, while a floating trophy will be awarded to the municipality that collects the most medals.
The provincial Inter-Municipal Sports of South Africa games were established in 2007 as part of an initiative to encourage healthy lifestyles, build teamwork, foster community involvement and create a social platform for municipal employees. These also serve as elimination rounds for the international competition, known as the Southern Africa Inter-Municipal Sports Association (SAIMSA) games which take place in one of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries in September every year.
The SAIMSA games were launched in 2003 and municipalities from Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho and Zambia are eligible to participate.
A municipality in Namibia was initially earmarked to host the 2017 SAIMSA games, but the decision was revoked due to the anticipated lack of sufficient water by September.
Other municipalities, including Polokwane, have indicated their willingness to host the games, but a final decision has not yet been announced.
